Black Australorp roo or hen?

[mbenntt3]

Hello! We have been debating for weeks on if our black Australorp is a roo or hen... It is now 12 weeks old and the comb and wattle look pretty large to me. It is also particularly "protective" of the other hens and the others noticeably follow it around. Issue now is, we just found one of our red hens were completely mutilated, and there's no signs of any outside intruder. We're hoping we don't have an aggressive rooster here are the best pics I could get. Any suggestions/ help is very appreciated!

 

[Lovely Lettie]

Hello! We have been debating for weeks on if our black Australorp is a roo or hen... It is now 12 weeks old and the comb and wattle look pretty large to me. It is also particularly "protective" of the other hens and the others noticeably follow it around. Issue now is, we just found one of our red hens were completely mutilated, and there's no signs of any outside intruder. We're hoping we don't have an aggressive rooster here are the best pics I could get. Any suggestions/ help is very appreciated!

Rooster

 

[southwestclucker]

Mine is also 12 weeks old and has none of that comb/wattle stuff going on, so my guess would be cockerel.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Cockerel, I see saddles starting.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

It is now 12 weeks old and the comb and wattle look pretty large to me. It is also particularly "protective" of the other hens and the others noticeably follow it around. Issue now is, we just found one of our red hens were completely mutilated, and there's no signs of any outside intruder. We're hoping we don't have an aggressive rooster

Welcome to BYC!

Cockerel. Not technically a rooster (or hen) until a year old.. terms matter especially when discussing behavior and health.. otherwise we generally just say hen and roo also.

Sorry for your loss, It wasn't him that did it. Many predators can get through chicken wire including rats.. start another thread to find the culprit.

You might also want to discuss your current interaction with him and see if there's something that should be switched up to keep him from acting stupid towards you. I don't buy all the dominance stuff but getting communication right and understanding what's being communicated can help a lot. I've had a few Stew Pidasso's.. that would come all the way across the pasture to attack my dog playing frisbee and crow every time they saw me and indeed became stew.. but generally speaking I've also had a lot of really good boys that were valued and protective members of the flock and with enough discernment to stand guard and gripe some but not attack family, visitors, or other pets. Roosters are not adequate predator protection in my location.

 

[mbenntt3]

Welcome to BYC!

Cockerel. Not technically a rooster (or hen) until a year old.. terms matter especially when discussing behavior and health.. otherwise we generally just say hen and roo also.

Sorry for your loss, It wasn't him that did it. Many predators can get through chicken wire including rats.. start another thread to find the culprit.

You might also want to discuss your current interaction with him and see if there's something that should be switched up to keep him from acting stupid towards you. I don't buy all the dominance stuff but getting communication right and understanding what's being communicated can help a lot. I've had a few Stew Pidasso's.. that would come all the way across the pasture to attack my dog playing frisbee and crow every time they saw me and indeed became stew.. but generally speaking I've also had a lot of really good boys that were valued and protective members of the flock and with enough discernment to stand guard and gripe some but not attack family, visitors, or other pets. Roosters are not adequate predator protection in my location.

Thank you for the term knowledge! I'm glad to hear it wasn't him, he's not aggressive towards us at all and doesn't seem to be aggressive towards the others, just protective, which is why I also found this baffling. I will definitely start another thread to try to better communication and figure out the culprit. We definitely do have a rat problem here and live between 2 hay fields. Thank you for your advice!

 

[CHICKENLOVERtweny7]

Hello! We have been debating for weeks on if our black Australorp is a roo or hen... It is now 12 weeks old and the comb and wattle look pretty large to me. It is also particularly "protective" of the other hens and the others noticeably follow it around. Issue now is, we just found one of our red hens were completely mutilated, and there's no signs of any outside intruder. We're hoping we don't have an aggressive rooster here are the best pics I could get. Any suggestions/ help is very appreciated!

it looks just like my to pulets

 

[Lovely Lettie]

it looks just like my to pulets

Can I see pics of your pullets? Just out of curiosity!